Classic British Flight Sim

Such a sad day - first time since 1933 that the RAF has been without a maritime squadron. As far as I know we're still an island nation.

Mr Cameron says 'We'll take that on RISK', let's hope he's right!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYgJna_t7KU

(before they take that down too)

Very nice Brian.. I enjoyed that

ATB

DaveB

I attended a lecture this morning on the Enigma Variations - 'Nimrod' by Sir Edward Elgar!

That was a really good video. The door is now wide open between Greenland and the Hebrides.

I find it very difficult to accept that today, as an island nation, we have very little large ship building capacity, a very, very small fishing fleet, a tiny Royal Navy and no maritime squadrons! A couple of years ago I was told that most of our merchant fleet is now registered in convenient countries to obtain lower crewing numbers and low cost insurance and that a lot of ships carry crew from the Phillipines and are officered by merchant navy officers trained in small mid-European countries. At the same time I was informed that we have one college training UK qualified merchant officers and almost no training facilities for UK born Crew!!

We do however have splendid leisure craft boat building yards - future RN may have to adapt such craft as missile armed escorts/ CPCs/FPCs? However, since we have almost no fishing boats future minesweepers might be on the 'wish list' for a year or so while the yards knock out a few dozen plastic boats or helicopter minewsweeping is perfected.

We shall of course continue to win medals at world class sailing events.

Yes indeed, also and most embarrassingly I heard from Kinloss last night that the only operational work going on at Kinloss is on the far side of the airfield - where the Americans and French are patrolling OUR coastal waters for us.....

Thank goodness someone is still patrolling though I'm not sure how much confidence the general public will have in either the Americans or French doing it for us

ATB

DaveB

Nimrod, Orion, P-8 Poseidon, CP-107 Argus all based on commercial airframes. We don't build them anymore apart from wings!

As far as ASW goes aren't the Russians supposed to be in the good lads club these days? Its not like the Red Banner Fleet is itching to steam into the North Atlantic and give us a good shoeing any more.

Anybody else sore at us with any decent subs?

They may not be there in the numbers of bygone days but they're still around

Beautiful video, Brian!! Great choice of music also.


I am a big fan of Eva Cassidy, who unfortunatly died at a young age. She performed at Blues Alley in DC, about twenty miles from me and had a few CDs out on a small local label. Most Americans had never heard of her, but Wogan on BBC Radio 2 played her version of "Over The Rainbow" and the switchboard lit up. Somehow The Washington Post found out about her popularity in England and her CD's then began to sell well in the US. Ironic that it took Sir Terry to educate us about a great singer in our own backyard.

hobby wrote:I attended a lecture this morning on the Enigma Variations - 'Nimrod' by Sir Edward Elgar!.

One of my favourite pieces of music by Sir Edward - did the lecture explain who the Nimrod variation portrays? Also the piece is a theme and variations and Elgar stated that there is a hidden theme in the piece. To quote Sir Edward "The Enigma I will not explain - its 'dark saying' must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme 'goes', but is not played.... So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas ... the chief character is never on the stage."

There have been many attempts to find that hidden theme and suggestions such as "God Save The Queen have been offered but I don't think anyone has really pinned it down.

ok, enough musical trivia for now

Nigel²

Brian Franklin wrote: Mr Cameron says 'We'll take that on RISK', let's hope he's right!

Hope that too.
For all of Europe.

Nick